On the Twelfth Day of Christmas

Seems like I either hate Hallmark movies or love one so much I can't stop watching it over and over.

This movie is a watch over and over one for me. Loved it. The main two leads are wonderful. They are spot on in their acting and seem to get the plot and their characters exactly.

This is also a movie where several side actors are so excellent that they add a lot to the movie. For example the female lead's editor and male lead's program manager were amazing.

The plot is thoughtful, believable, realistic, and charming. It seems to have a sense of carefully constructed scenes throughout that make the entire production a joy.

There are few Hallmark movies that don't have a few glaring errors. But, you would be hard-pressed to find some in this movie. So, go ahead. Watch it over and over like me.

We've liked Robin Dunne since we first saw him on Sanctuary ... SO long ago now it seems. Since that series was canceled, he's been in several Hallmark movies.

In this one he's a DJ who lost his love for Christmas when his mother died in the season. Years later, "Maggie", who knew him briefly but was intrigued, comes across "Mitch" when he takes a job as a DJ in her town.

She decided to rekindle his spirit by sending anonymous Secret Santa Christmas gifts. Unfortunately, her job as a human interest reporter for the local paper complicates life when the gifts get publicity and her paper assigns her to cover the story.

The conflict on interest and the accidental secret of course make for the trouble spot all the movies need for their climax, and this is a good one. It makes much more sense than many of the forced crises in these film.

This one is definitely worth watching, and even an occasional rewatch when you're in the mood.

Was really quite surprised by 'On the Twelfth Day of Christmas'. In a very pleasant way. While there are plenty of at least watchable Hallmark Christmas films, there are very few that are great and some of them struggle to even reach mediocre. So this could have gone either way. The title was not as corny as other Hallmark Christmas titles and the premise was sort of intriguing, even if fairly typical but in a different setting/basic scenario.

'On the Twelfth Day of Christmas' is no award winner or a masterpiece, but that was not expected. It is not realistic to expect that from a Hallmark film, Christmas or otherwise. It is a very charming and surprisingly very well executed film by Hallmark standards, and to me it is easily among their best festive efforts. Proof that Hallmark should be given a chance without prejudice or scorn, because there have been times where they show they have a good film in them and 'On the Twelfth Day of Christmas' is one of them, for reasons that have been summed up already.

Sure there are not an awful lot of surprises, but one comes to expect that from Hallmark. But whether that matters or not is dependent on the execution of everything else and this executes most of its everything else remarkably well. It's all very easy to figure out and it can get corny at times.

Did feel too that the central relationship took a little too long to develop, do agree that if it was clear that they felt the same way and in love earlier it would have made the reaction to the secret coming out more plausible. The reactions came too out of left field and extreme done in the way it was in the film.

However, 'On the Twelfth Day of Christmas' a lovely looking film, particularly the photography, and the music is fitting with the atmosphere and more subtle in placement and tone than a lot of Hallmark Christmas films, that are known for intrusive music. The dialogue has some corn but takes itself more seriously than most Hallmark films, with some welcome levity here and there, without being overly so and it has flow and heart. The acting is good, with engaging lead performances from Robin Dunne and especially the ray of sunshine that is Brooke Nevin. The Christmas theme is charmingly and sincerely handled.

The story is somewhat formulaic, but is very heart-warming and sincere. Also personally don't think it's that unrealistic, other Hallmark festive films are more guilty of that to much worse effect. Actually agree with another that Maggie's motivations regarding her job are understandable and even relatable, also topical in this day and age considering the nature and increasingly negative impact of media and journalism now. It is good to find a Hallmark festive film where it was easy to care for the characters, only losing it a little with Mitch at the point mentioned above, where there is actual growth with them (especially Mitch) and where there was actual chemistry between the two leads worth investing in.

Summing up, very well done. 8/10

The other high rated reviews already cover very well the movie plot and its strengths; no need for me to duplicate that discussion. What I do want to add is that while the eventual ending may be predictable, the plot twists and character responses along the way are not, so the movie kept me entertained and engaged all the way through to a very satisfying ending. Highly recommended.

Brooke Nevin & Robin Dunne star as Maggie and Mitch, who once upon a time were in college together and find themselves back in their hometown and begin to reacquaint their friendship. Maggie has only fond memories of Mitch, who helped her get home for Christmas when she was a freshman. Maggie always wondered what happened and why Mitch never came back to college... He also has no Christmas spirit whatsoever, so Maggie sets out to rekindle his spirit and hopefully some romance as well. She begins sending him anonymous packages full of Christmas cheer. To complicate matters the packages become a media frenzy and she is assigned to write a story on them for the local paper. Will Maggie tell Mitch before someone else takes credit for the cheer? Cute romantic Christmas flick.